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WISCONSIN 



BULLETIN No. 2 * 

Published by authority of the Executive Committee 



Strawberries for the Home Garden 



MADISON, WIS., APRIL, 1904 

The Bulletins and Annual Reports of this Society are sent 
free to members of the Society 



Monogr*P^ 






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Winconsin State Horticultural Society 



OFFICERS. 

T. E. Loope, President Eureka 

Geo. J. Kellogg. Vice-President Lake Mills 

F. Cranefield, Secretary Madison 

L. G. Kellogg. Treasurer Ripon 

W. A. Toole, Cor. Secretary Baraboo 

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 

T. E. Loope, Chairman Ex-officio 

F. Cranefield Ex-officio 

Geo. J. Kellogg Ex-officio 

L. G. Kellogg Ex-officio 

1st Dist., W. J. Moyle Union Grove 

2d Dist., S. B. Marshall Madison 

3d Dist.. Wm. Toole Baraboo 

4th Dist., Arthur Wright Milwaukee 

5th Dist., F. W. Harland Waukesha 

6th Dist., Geo. C. Hill Rosendale 

7th Dist., J. J. Menn Norwalk 

8th Dist., W. P. Bussey Omro 

9tn Dist., Irving Smith Green Bay 

Kith Dist., A. L. Kreutzer Wausau 

11th Dist., C. L. Richardson Chippewa Falls 



The Bulletins and Annual Reports of the Society are sent free to 
members only. Persons not members may obtain copies until the edi- 
tions are exhausted on prepayment of postage. Annual Reports, 14 
cents; Bulletins, 1 cent. Annual membership fee. $1.00. Life mem- 
bership, $5.00 



The Wisconsin State Horticultural Society. 

PAST: Fifty-one years of profitable work. 

PRESENT: (1) More interest manifested than ever before; (2) 
Four trial orchards established and maintained by the Society in 
Northern Wisconsin carrying fruit growing up to Lake Superior; (3) 
Valuable work in other fields. 

FUTURE: Very promising. Limited only by the enthusiasm of 
its members, and that is unlimited. 

MEMBERSHIP: Membership is not limited to professional culti- 
vators. Every one who has a fruit tree, a berry bush, a flowering 
plant or even a hill of beans, is eligible. Even if you have none of 
these, join anyway, and learn how to cultivate at least one of them. 
The annual membership fee of $1 may be sent to the Secretary at 
Madison. 



HISTORY. 



Iu 1853 a band of enthusiastic fruit growers met at Whitewater and 
organized the Wisconsin Fruit Growers' Association. This society 
held successful annual exhibitions until 1862. 

In 1865 the Association met and re-organized, taking the name of 
The Wisconsin State Horticultural Society. 

From that year until the present the Society has held annual or 
semi-annual meetings, given exhibitions and through its members and 
printed reports preached the gospel of fruits and flowers. 

Like other industries fruit growing in Wisconsin has had its ups 
and downs. The early reports of the W. F. G. A. show that these 
pioneers had planted all manner of fruits, even quinces. Later, in the 
early seventies, the fierce Wisconsin winters swept away all the tender 
fruits and discouragement fell on all but a few of the faithful. The 
stout-hearted ones said. "If we cannot grow the Pippin and the Belle- 
fleuer we will produce varieties that will grow," and they set about 
doing it. For twenty-five years members of the Wisconsin State Hor- 
ticultural Society have been prying into the secret of nature and bat- 
tling with the elements to find fruits fitted to Wisconsin conditions. 
The records of the work done by the members of the Society may be 
found in every part of the state. 

The records of the Society are also written for all time in gold, sil- 
ver and bronze, for at all great Expositions, including Chicago in 1893, 
Wisconsin fruit has won medals and unbounded admiration. A host 
of younger men and women are now rallying to carry on the work and 
share in the benefits, but their number is too small. The membership 
roll of our Society should number thousands instead of hundreds. 
Every man who tills an acre of ground, every woman who wants vege- 
tables, fruits and flowers should be a member of the Society. Every- 
one who reads this is cordially invited to become a member. It costs 
one dollar a year unless you are already a member of a local society, 
when fifty cents will be enough. The Annual Report and the Bulletins 
are sent free to members. 



STRAWBERRIES FOR THE HOME GARDEN 

F. CRANEFIEL.D 

This little bulletin is intended as a guide for every one who wants 
strawberries for home use. It is for the home gardener only and not 
for the commercial grower. Many people, farmers as well as residents 
in villages and cities, buy strawberries for home use, when in most 
cases sufficient land is available to produce an abundance of berries. 
A space 20x50 feet if well tilled may produce annually more strawber- 
ries than the average family can consume. Six bushels of strawber- 




Fig. 1. Showing strawberry plants on very stony land, 
ries were picked from a patch of this size last year in a private garden 
in Madison. Every one who has a square rod of tillable ground may 
have strawberries. 

Soil. — The character of the soil is of but little importance. Any 
good garden land will produce strawberries. An extreme case is 



Wisconsin State Horticultural Society. 



shown in Fig. 1, where the surface is covered with stones. Fig. 2 
shows a sample of the crop obtained on such land. 

The soil in the Madison garden mentioned above is stiff clay over 
swamp muck, which in turn overlays fine sand 

Site. — The site is matter of slight importance if not too far from 
the house. The fruit will ripen earlier and the blossoms suffer less 
from late spring frosts if located on slightly elevated land sloping 
gently to east or south. 

Soil Preparation. — The ground should be deeply plowed and in 
every way as well prepared as for corn before planting. On light soils 
it is a good plan to manure and plow in the fall, as strawberry plants 
do not start well in very loose and mellow soil. For very heavy soils 
spring plowing may be preferable. 




Fig 2 A sample of the crop produced by plants shown in fig 1. 



Manure. — Use only thoroughly decayed (unleached) manure. Not 
only is fresh manure unavailable as plant food but the decaying pro- 
cesses which it undergoes in the soil may cause injury to the roots of 
the newly set plants if in contact with them. 

Best Time for Planting. — Early in spring, as soon as the ground 
can be worked, is the very best time to plant. Good results, however, 
may be had by planting later, even at flowering time, if the plants are 
carefully handled and shaded after planting. Notliing is gained by 
fall planting for if the plants are allowed to fruit the following spring 



Strawberries for the Home Garden. 



a poor growth will result that will result in a very scant crop the fol- 
lowing year. We should encourage plant making this year that we 
may have an abundance of fruit next year. 

Plants. — Good plants may be had of our Wisconsin nurserymen at 
reasonable prices. It may also be possible to get thrifty plants from 




Fig. 3. Showing the branching of roots as a result of root pruning. 

a neighbor, but in this case care must be taken to secure only new 
plants, — less than one year old. Only young runner plants ot the cur- 
rent season's growth that have never borne truit should be used. 
These may be known by their light colored roots; plants more than 
one year old have dark (black) roots. 





Fig. 4. Showing manner of transplant- Fig. 5. Pressing earlh about roots, 
ing with dibber; inserting roots. 

Planting. — For the -home garden the plants should be set about 
two feet apart in rows four feet apart. 

The plants should be prepared for planting by removing the old 
leaves and stems and shortening the roots, both to facilitate planting 



Wisconsin State Horticultural Society. 



and encourage branching (Fig. 3). After trimming dip the roots in 
water and pack snugly in a basket with damp chaff or straw to prevent 
drying by sun and wind. With a dibber or garden trowel make a nar- 
row and deep opening as shown in Fig. 4, spread the roots fan-shaped 
and tuck them into this V-shaped opening, close the opening with dib- 
ber as shown in Fig. 5 and tramp firmly close to the plant. In this 




Fig. 0. " Do not plant by spreading the roots horizontally.' 

way the ruots are down in moist earth. Do not plant by spreading 
the roots horizontally as buown in Fig. 6, for in this way the roots are 
all too near the surface. 

Do not set too high with the roots exposed as shown in Fig. 7. 

Do not set too deep, as shown in Fig. 8, with the "crown" covered 
with earth, or the plant will surely die. Fig. 9 shows proper way. 

In large plantations the "spade" method is employed. A spade is 
thrust into the ground and drawn slightly forward. The plant is 




Fig. 7. "Do not set too high Fig. 8. " Do not set too 
with the roots exposed." deep" 



Fig. 



This is a better 
plan. 



then placed in the opening behind the spade, the spade withdrawn 
and the opening closed firmly by again thrusting the spade into the 
ground close to the roots. 

Watering. — If the ground is dry at planting time it may be advisa- 
ble to apply water. This should be done by pouring it into the hole 
before the plant is set. Pouring a little water on the surface after the 
plant is set is apt to do more harm than good. Only the surface soil 
is moistened, which attracts the feeding roots to the surface, where 
they quickly perish. 



Strawberries for the Home Garden. 



Cultivation. — Keep the soil loose, mellow and tree from weeds 
throughout the season by frequent cultivation. An adjustable one- 
horse cultivator is a good tool to use. Run close to the plants at first, 
and as the runners stretch out into the space between the rows, close 
up cultivator allowing the plants to set thickly in matted rows two 
feet wide, thus leaving a two-foot path between rows. Care should 
be taken to keep the rows full by training runners so as to fill gaps. 




Fig. 10. Illustrating the "matted row" system of strawberry culture. 



If the ground is rich and the season favorable too many plants may 
set. In this case as the season advances remove the surplus plants 
until they stand about six inches apart. 

Remove all blossoms from the parent plants as soon as they appear. 
All of the energies of these plants must be directed to plant making 
the first season and not wasted in the production of flowers and fruit. 
At the end of tne season we should nave a bed that will appear like 
the one shown in Fig. 10. 

Winter Protection. — As soon as the ground is slightly frozen in the 
fall the bed should be lightly covered with clean straw, or better still, 
marsh hay. This covering is not designed to prevent freezing but to 
preven. alternate thawing and freezing, ^ome growers use sawdust 
for covering wit± good success. 

One Year After Planting. — After -ettied warm weather has arrived 
and the plants begin to push into growth the winter mulch should be 



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Wisconsin State Horticultural Society. 



removed. A large part of it may be raked into the paths between the 
rows, where it will serve to keep down weed growth as well as pre- 
serve moisture. Some growers remove the mulch entirely and culti- 
vate the space as in the preceding season. In this case tne mulch 
must be replaced as the fruit begins to ripen in order to keep it clean. 
The bed should r»e kept free from grass and weeds which will appear 
in abundance among the plants in the matted rows. If all these things 
be done we should be rewarded in June with an abundance of fruit. 

Protection from Frost. — Late spring frosts may destroy the blos- 
soms, as these are very susceptible to cold. The mulching may be 
used to cover the plants when frost threatens. It may be forked 
lightly over the plants after sundown and removed the next morning. 
It serves as a blanket, retaining the heat about the plants. This may 
be repeated as often as frost threatens, at slight expense. 

The Second Season — Renewal. — After the fruit is harvested mow 
the plants close to the ground, rake the bed free of the cut leaves and 




Kig. II. Showing an im- 
perfect or pistillate straw- 
berry flower. 



Fig. 12. A perfect or 
stain inate flower. 



mulching and burn them. In this way insects and diseases are de- 
stroyed ; then plow a shallow furrow from each side of the row into 
the paths, leaving a strip of plants about 8 inches wide; clean out this 
narrowed row. cutting out the old plants and as many others as may 
be necessary to leave the plants 8 to 10 inches apart. After this clean- 
ing and thinning cultivate as in the first year and if season is not too 
dry these remaining plants will send out runners and again form 
matted rows. By taking a new portion of the row each year for the 
renewal the plantation might be continued indefinitely, biu in prac- 
tice it. is scarcely profitable. It is generally considered less expensive 
and more satisfactory to plant a new bed once in two years at most, 
and many good growers retain the plantation but one year. 

Varieties.. — Some varieties of strawberries produce only imperfect 
flowers similar to the one shown in Fig. 11. These flowers have no 
stamens and are therefore incapable of self-pollination. It is import- 



Strawberries for the Home Garden. 



ant to keep this tact in mind when selecting varieties, for if imperfect- 
flowered varieties only are selected no fruit will be borne. A small 
part of the plantation at least must be of kinds bearing perfect flow- 
ers like the one in Fig. 12. Nurserymen indicate in their catalogues 
the imperfect varieties by the abbreviation "Imp." 

The amateur as well as the professional soon learns that in the 
selection of varieties he must be guided by local condition of soil, 
climate, etc.. and that no list can be given that will be satisfactory 
over any wide area. 

The following is given as a "trial list." All are well known to 
commercial growers and are fairly satisfactory under widely varying 
conditions: 

Perfect-Flowered: Bederwood, Splendid. Lovett. 

Imperfect-Flowered: Warfield, Haverland, Crescent, Glen Mary. 

If but two varieties are wanted, Bederwood and Warfield may be 
selected, the former early, the latter midseason to late. 



Acknowledgements. 



Figs, 1 and 2 are from Bull. No. 7. Missouri State Fruit Experiment Sta- 
tion, and are used by permission of the Director, Mr. Paul Evans. 

Figs. 3. 1. 5, T. 8 and 9 are from Principles of Plant Culture by E. S. 
(luff and arc used by permission of the University Co-Operative Association 
of Madison. Fig. If is used by permission of Coe, Converse and Edwards 
Co., Ft. Atkinson, Wis. Pigs. 6. 11 and 12 are from original drawings by 
Miss Jennie Pitman of Madison. 



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